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Nothing like doing a little overtime and starting my workday at 7:00 am without coffee…
Coffee (or tea) has a wonderful effect on me: the soothing warmth, the spicy scent, the strong taste and of course… the caffeine! It is also the interpreter’s (or translator’s) required beverage before starting the day, because it might help align all the pathways in the brain and ensure optimal performance (or placebo?). Like a fuel and stimulant to my “cervelle”. Thankfully, in the meantime (and until my first morning break), I have a wonderful home-made banana nut muffin to keep me happy.

After a good, intense, cardio-step workout, the rant is over and it is time to focus back on the positive… Are you with me?

I am an optimist, always have been. And when I deal with a tough situation or face hardships and challenges, I first let the negative out (whether it is a good scream, cry, kick, workout or knockout – nobody is injured though, I promise). Then, once I am calmed down, I go into a meditative mode and I pray, sing, count my blessings. And when I do, I realize that I have a wonderful life!

Today’s word is intelligent, only in the sense that if you use this term in speaking French, you demonstrate a higher command of the language, a more advanced level. It is not pompous either, so go ahead, use it!

The French language is so rich with expressions, and it associates verbs specifically with certain nouns to form an expression. In English, one verb can be changed into so many different meanings with a preposition (to take in/ out/ after/ along/ apart/ away…). In French, those different meanings are achieved with a whole expression (prendre part à…) or a distinct verb (emporter, enmener, démonter, …).

Are you ever in a situation on the phone, in which you have a French-speaking caller on the line and you can’t understand each other at all? Or you are calling a place of business in Canada or Morocco, and you did not expect that the person on the other line would not speak a word of English?

Source: languageline.com

This is a situation that my clients deal with all the time, and that is when they call an interpreter at Language Line to help overcome the language barrier… But here is a very important expression to use in that situation:

I have even learned to say this in Spanish, because so often when I introduce myself as the French interpreter, I hear: « No francés… I need e-spanish!! ». I learned to say: « No cuelgue por favor! » (Please hold)… « Buscamos un intérprete de español. ¡Un momento, Señora! » (We are looking for a Spanish interpreter. One moment madam!)…

I must admit that Labor Day week-end caused my normal schedule to be a little off, and instead of being prepared, I am playing catch-up… Nevertheless, it makes this week’s « mots du bonjour » a little more spontaneous! After reading Todd Pack’s « freshly pressed » blog post regarding Sarah Palin’s mishap with the English language (« refudiate« ) and the inability to properly use more advanced words, I thought the following would be appropriate for our Thursday category, le mot intello:

Il a réfuté l’accusation de son patron sur son manque de fiabilité. // He refuted the accusation by his boss on his lack of reliability.Sarah a réfuté en bloc toutes les accusations portées contre elle. // Sarah refuted entirely all accusations made against her.Le rôle de l’avocat est de réfuter les accusations portées contre son client. // The attorney’s role is to refute the accusations made against his client.